Memories of the Future
by Whitefeather
Summary: Who was Ultimecia? Sure, she was a sorceress, but who was she... before? Someone the SeeD knew?


Memories of the Future

Oh, geez, I'm in a dramatic mood about now. Your reviews got me started, and helped me overcome my block. I finished FFIX last week, but man, can there be any moments in there that are dramatic enough to write about? I do need some help though, if you can spare the time, in a review, tell me your favorite moment in FFVII, FFVIII, or FFIX so I can use it. I'm gonna aim for ten reviews again. I want to thank the author who first introduced me to this theory.

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Each step in the field takes me closer to my past. Closer to the things I wish to forget, wish never to think of again, yet I know they will keep coming. These memories are inevitable, for they are what brought me here. A grave comes into my sight, the first of many. The words leapt out at me like a rock among red sand.

XXX Quistis Trepe XXX 

Quistis had been the second death at the Garden in two days. She had died on Christmas day, protecting the junior classmates when a T-Rexaur got loose in the halls. I still remember hearing her scream for help as well as her scream of death in the early morning hours. The gleam of Squall's blade, as it cut through the creatures skin. The cries of help from the students. Maybe even me. I can't remember… because my laughter droned it out. 

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Shaking my head, I attempt to get rid of Quistis. Her memories, her persona, everything, but the advice she had once given me. **We are all here, now, and that's what matters. **_Here, now…what does it all mean? When time is one, there is none of this. Sighing, I move to the next grave. _

XXX Zell Dincht XXX 

Zell, the only one who could truly give me a laugh, had died on New Years, during a party. A Galbadian student came in and tried to kill as many students from Balamb as he could, because his brother died from the attack two years before. Sitting in front of Zell was his girlfriend, that girl with the pigtail, and she got hit. He took a bullet while trying to help her, and died. All I remember was seeing the medics rushing, my friends crying, and people running. I don't believe I ran. I think I was smiling. 

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I still remember my giggles that I hid from the others that night, as they all cried for help. Afraid little SeeD…Everything from Zell, which is not that much, must go. Except, his last words to me…**Give it up, man. You don't have the air to be serious. **_Truthfully, little Zell?Well I was dead serious before, when I ordered that Galbadian student…never mind that. I swish my dress and turn to the next graves, one next to the other. _

XXX Selphie Timlett XXX 

XXX Irvine Kinneas XXX

Selphie and Irvine, the inseparable couple, had both been the victims of a freak accident. They had both had died on the day of the Garden Festival, the fate of a simple accident… or so they say. The awning over the stage had crashed down atop Selphie, and Irvine pushed her out of the way. His efforts were in vain, though, as he was too late. Both of them were crushed under the weight of the awning. Later, it was proven that someone had killed them. Someone who had known that Irvine would run to save her yet not make it in time. Only one of their closest friends could have… only I knew who did. Both of them must leave now, and never come back…**Hey, man, you need to stop being a loner… Yeah, what he said. **

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I fold my hands and look down at the ground. Biting my lip, I realize that this trip would only get harder…because the last graves are of the ones I treasured most, and didn't wish to die.

XXX Seifer Almasy XXX

Seifer, the loyal knight of all, had died years before. He had died from a person in Deling City who did not want a tyrant to rule again. He had felt that the needed to apologize to the people, and was thought to be trying to gain power. My father, no, Rinoa's father, had been the one to kill him. When Seifer's true motives had been sorted out; General Caraway had been put to death. I still remember Cid and Edea relating the news to me, and my tears. At that time they were not fake, but real, running down my face like rain pounding down a valley. Yet… most of those tears were for Seifer. Unlike all the others, I will never forget him. 

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I brush my long hair from my face, and touch the cool granite of his grave. He had been so loyal, so long ago… Yet now, as I step to the side, the smallest grave stands. The last promise I had made, and the only one I had not intended to kill… the one who had driven me to my madness. 

XXX Squall Leonheart XXX

Squall had been the first to go, on Christmas Eve. Until that day, I had loved my life. But after seeing him push me out of the way, seeing his blood on me… I felt as though I never could live with them. Squall had been killed during a party, right after he proposed to Rinoa. A SeeD… who's name I will never know… ran in…and the last thing I saw was him before me… no, before Rinoa… 

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A single tear runs down my face, and gets caught in my once black hair. I had loved him so much…yet, after he died, I felt like all SeeD were responsible… I could try and forget about him, but I know I never can. I kneel down in front of the last grave, and, even though I've read it a million times, a chill runs up my spine. 

XXX Rinoa Heartilly Caraway XXX 

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I… no, Rinoa… had died the day Squall did. It had not been through a physical mood, nor a health problem. That day, Rinoa died, because she gave up. She let all her anger towards SeeD to pass, and she left the past to anyone's guess. She let me come forth. When I fight the SeeD and Rinoa today, they will not know. They will think of me as the one who took Rinoa, yet the irony is too great there, because I did take Rinoa, twice… 

I took Rinoa twice… 

I took each of their lives, even though they killed me…

I may die, yet one who fights me will still live and carry on… 

I am Ultimecia, yet long ago, I was someone else. 

I was Rinoa Heartilly Caraway. 


End file.
